Monday, March 16, 2009

Our son came home from the NICU on Sunday, and on Tuesday the first of our friends came through our door bearing the gift of home cooked food to help sustain two slightly frazzled sleep deprived new parents. And how we got spoiled by this first food delivery! Our friend Michaela is a foodie par excellence. Her dissertation examines controversies around foie gras in the US and France. She makes it a point to regularly frequent some of Chicago's best high end restaurant, including a trip to the now legendary Alinea. Over the summer Michaela works at a Farmstand at the Evanston Farmer's Market in exchange for produce.

The recipe she brought for us is Sarah Stegner's recipe. Michaela tells me she is formerly of the Ritz Carlton and now chef at Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook, and one of her farm's best customers.

So with a foodie pedigree like that, we weren't suprised that Michaela's food was such a wonderful treat. Still I was incredibly impressed as she pulled out first saffron rice, then steamed asparagus, and finally incredibly mouthwatering Slow-Roasted Salmon With Mustard Parsley Glaze.

I am someone who never tried salmon until I was in college, and so I am still quite picky about salmon recipes. This one met all my criteria for an excellent salmon recipe: it was light, and yet still present. It brought a taste of its own but managed to work in harmony with the salmon, it complimented the inherent taste of the fish.

I would have taken a picture of it for you all, but honestly I was so hungry and it was so mouthwatering that the meal barely lasted a minute before I started to devour it. So you'll have to use your imagination until you are lucky enough to have this dish grace your table.

I love the flavor pairing of salmon and mustard! The first time I heard about it, I was a little skeptical, but I really enjoyed it upon trying it. This recipe looks like a tasty version of that yummy combo.